I'm Part of the "Mass Shooting Generation" — Here's How I'm Fighting to End Gun Violence

By Juliana Simone Carrasco


Immediately following the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February, I went with my mom to a Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense In the
U.S. Meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She had been a volunteer for a while, however before the Parkland shooting, I hadn’t believed my role in preventing gun violence. Soon after it, I felt like I had to act and knew there must be more students like me could do to help end the gun violence crisis. As a junior in high school, I’d never been involved in any sort of activism, although I had to try.


Turns out some other young people came to the meeting, also, and we all got with each other and determined to form our own Students Demand Action chapter. Since that day we’ve been hard at work registering and pre-registering voters, phone banking, canvassing, and participating in local events like the Miami Wear Orange event for National Gun Violence Awareness Day.


I’ve grown up in the midst of our nation’s gun violence crisis. My generation is frequently called the “mass shooting generation.” We’ve grown up with lockdown drills, fearing that our school might be next. I grew up and still reside in Miami — not also far from Parkland, and at my school (and probably around the nation, there was an overwhelming feeling that it may have just as with little effort been us.


And this worry that gun deaths are on the rise is backed up by statistics. New intelligence was recently released by the CDC showing that 2017 was the third year in a row where gun deaths have increased. And for the opening time in modern history, firearms killed substantially more Residents of the
U.S. Than motor car deaths. The variation here's that our leaders in Washington took action to address vehicle deaths as a public health crisis, while our gun violence crisis hasn't obtained the same treatment.


Time and again, Residents of the United States are heartbroken by gun violence and the nation's lawmakers in Washington fail to take action. This election cycle, Residents of the United States voted overwhelmingly for candidates who support gun violence prevention policies, sending a clear message: it’s time to #BreakThePattern of federal inaction and pass stronger gun laws.


Students like me — and everyday Residents of the United States — will be watching to create ensure they do. They owe it to us.


We’ve been hard at work daily since Parkland. We know change won’t happen overnight, although we won’t give until the collection of deaths from gun violence falls from 100 a day to zero. Right now that elections are over, and we’ve sent so several gun sense champions to Congress, students are turning our attention to what comes next. We’ve made it clear that we’re demanding more, and we’ll be holding ongress accountable.


Fighting for change can be overwhelming — especially any time you’re a busy high school student juggling the looming pressure of college applications with extracurriculars, although we must keep speaking out and let lawmakers know they must stand on the side of gun safety. We have to keep reminding lawmakers that they work for us — even those of us also young to vote. We need them to pass common-sense gun laws because we need this crisis to end.


Our voices may not be the loudest in the room, nevertheless we’ll continue to fight for better. Don’t wait up until gun violence affects school, your family members, or your town. Help us demand better from our politicians in 2019 by texting STUDENTS to 644-33 to join gun violence prevention advocates in your community.


Juliana Simone Carrasco is a student of New World School of the Arts and is a volunteer leader with the Miami Chapter of Students Demand Action.